Lighter



Oct. 18, 17949. G. DEsoUcg-lEs 2,485,041

LIGHTER Filed July 27, 1946 Patented Oct. 18, 1949 LIGHTER Gerard Desouches, Paris, France, assignor to Cartier, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation 0f New York Application July 27, 1946, Serial No. 686,630 In France March 13, 1946 3 Claims.

The object of the present invention is to improve lighters and, more particularly, pocket lighters, in such a way as to make their operation easier and more reliable.

In particular, the setting of` a new flint of any kind including ferro-ceriurn in place of an old one is, in most of the known lighters, a more or less complicated process which requires taking apart various parts.

An object of my present invention, is to facilitate the setting of a new flint.

Accordingly, the flint guide, in which theilint is pressed against the emery wheel by a spring, is provided laterally, and a little to the back of the flint, with an opening of easy access and the size of which allows the introduction of a flint, While means are adapted to remove away from said opening, when the flint is being introduced, the part which presses the flint against the emery wheel.

Preferably, these means which include, for instance, a pivoted lever, are provided with a locking mechanism which stops it automatically in the position in which it has been set to free the opening, so that the user has both hands entirely free to handle the flint and set it in the guide opening. Said locking mechanism can be associated with the lid of the lighter so that it is released when the lid is closed, the parts being thus set back into their working position without the user having to perform any special operation.

This improvement is especially suitable for those lighters in which the iiint guide can be reached through the upper end of the lighter, above the plate which carries the various parts. Above all, it suits those lighters in which the flint guide is placed horizontally above the said plate and especially those in which the flint spring is set in a vertical direction parallel to the axis of the emery wheel, the pressure of the spring being transmitted to the flint by means of an oscillating lever. In these lighters, the oscillating lever which is generally mounted in a slit in the guide, can be used to uncover the opening when it is pushed back. Furthermore, its bearing surface can be inclined in such a Way that the pressure of the spring, in the position in which the lever frees the opening, maintains this lever in the said opening uncovering position; a lug or Cam, carried by the lid, automatically pressing the said lever back against the int when the said lid is closed.

With the object of rendering the manipulation of lighters as easy as possible, it has also been found advantageous to give the knurled knob operated by the nger to turn the emery wheel, a saw-like prole angularly set in such a way that the steep sections of this profile are those on which the finger presses when working the knurled knob. Thus the nger has a rm hold on the knurled knob without having to exert on the latter any considerable effort as is the case with ordinary knurled knobs.

Other improvements will appear in the following description and in the attached drawing given merely as a nonlimitative example.

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation and in vertical section through line I--I of Fig. 4 of one embodiment of an improved lighter according tol the present invention; the lighter being supposedly provided with a new flint.

Fig. 2 is a part view showing the position of the Various parts when the iiint is worn down.

Fig. 3 is a part view in elevation of the same embodiment but on the side of the lighter opposite to the one shown in Fig. 2, so as to show the opening through which is introduced the flint.

Fig. 4 is a view in horizontal projection of the upper plate of the lighter, and shows at the same time a sectional View of the open lid.

Fig. 5 is a View in elevation of the lighter, showing the side on which is placed the hinge of the lighter lid, said lid being closed.

Fig. 6 is a sectional View of the knurled knob through line VI--VI of Fig. 1.

The lighter case I, which is in the shape of a parallelepiped drawn out in height and flat, shows at its upper end, a plate 2' on or against which are mounted the principal parts, said plate and said parts being concealed, when not in use, by a lid 3 pivoted at 3a to the case. In particular, the drawing shows the wick 2a, as well as the emery wheel 4 which can rotate around the pin 6, set in a xed bearing 7 vand screwed into the case at its lower end 6a. On this pin is also mounted the knurled knob [3 which is used to turn the emery wheel by finger, and which includes at its upper end a sleeve 8a united to the emery wheel by a square fit. The flint in rubbing Contact with the emery-Wheel, is set in a horizontal guide l milled or out in a Vertical metal plate Il welded to the plate 2. The said plate carries also the bearing l. The int 9 bears against the emery wheel and advances in its guide progressively as it is Worn down, by the pressure of a helical spring I2. This spring is parallel to the axis of rotation of the emery wheel and of the knurled knob, and in the case considered is parallel to the long side of case l and is held in a tube I3 closed at its lower end by a screw I4 against which abuts the lower end of the spring and which serves to regulate the tension of the said spring. The pressure of the said vertical spring is transmitted to the horizontal flint 9 by a flat lever I pivoted on a horizontal axis I6 and which moves in a slit I1 in plate II. The spring I2 presses, by means 0f a piston [2a set above it, on the projecting part I8 of the 'lever I 5, and thus tends to make this lever pivot in the direction shown by arrow f of Fig. 1, pressing it against the flint 9 and the latter against the emery wheel. The upper end of the piston I2a is flat so that it can enter the slit I'I of plate 'l I Vin which vrocks the lever I5. This lever I5 bearsagainstthe flint 9 through a surface I9 which acts as a cam the prole of which is such that theyplcssure exerted on the flint is as constant as possible inspite of the wear of the flint. In the surface of plate .II which is the most directly accessible, the iiint guide I0, cut in the plate, is provided with a rectangular opening 20 conveniently sized so as to allow the -sidewise introduction of a new flint 9a in 'the int guide (Fig. 3). This opening isset su'iliciently far from the emery wheel for the flint, located inside the guide and pressed against the emery wheel, not to be liable to come out through the ysaid opening. Consequently, the lever I5 appears normally in this opening and does not allow the flint to come out. When the flint is Worn down and the vuser Wants to replace it, the pressure of the thu-mb on the upper end I5c of lever I'5 makes it fallback completely, as shown in Fig. 3. Then, the lsurface of the projecting part I8 of the lever opposite the surface which bears normally against the vpiston I2a of the spring, comes into contact with this piston (Fig. 3) and the pressure of the spring then retains the lever in its new position. Thus, the opening I2 is set free and the -int 9a can be introduced into it.

The lever I5 can be brought forward again byacting on it with the linger, but .it is of greater advantage to do this automatically `by closing the lid 3. To this eilect, the lid 3 bears a lug or a cam 2| which when the lid is being closed, pushes forward the head I5a. The .projecting part I8 of the lever pivots with reference to the piston I2a and, as soon as it .actson .this piston through its normal bearing surface, it is -pushed back bythe spring I2 against the flint .and presses the latter onto the emery wheel.

The lever .I5 is thus, in effect, a bell crank lever fulcrumed at I6, with a cam-.like Vtoe or projection .I8 at the end of its power arm, ,and a camlike surface I9 at the forward edge of its work arm .I'5a. When the lever is -in the ,active position shown in Figures 1 and 2, the force exerted upon it through vone side of the projection or toe .I8 is such as .to force the cam I9 against the flint 9 and press the int against the wheel 4. However, when the lever is moved into its retracted position of Figure 3, the lowest point of the toe or projection I-8 passes beyond dead-center between the axis of the piston I2a and the pivot I6, so that the other side of lthe ,projection IB engages with the piston I2a and thus fthe .lever becomes locked in its retracted position until engaged by the cam 2| which forms part .of .the lid and moved thereby over dead-.Center to return to the position of Figure 1.

The upper edge IIa .of the plate II is .in the shape of an arco-f :a circle, the .center of which is on the axisof oscillation ILS of lever .I5 so that the projection of Athe lever head over .the edge IIa isalways constant, which Ymakesit easier to act-on 4 the head of the lever by moving ones finger along the said edge.

The lid 3 is pivoted to the case I by an axis 3a. Preferably, the eyes Ib and 3b of the hinge are provided respectively on the lid and on the case as shown in Fig. 5, so as to ensure a greater resistance for said hinge.

The lid is held fast in its yextreme positions by means of a spring blade 22 xed in the case and facting by means of itsyupper end on a linger 23 .rigid with the lid. The spring 22 is concealed by a metal part 24 in an opening of the plate 2.

vThe bevelled edges vof the case and lid 25 and 26 respectively, 'form a large V-shaped angle when the lid is open; the movement of the finger which pushes back `corri-pletely the lever I5 and uncovers thefopening 20, can thus be done with ease, while the lid can nevertheless mask completely the lighter Vparts when it is closed.

The knurled knob is va large cylinder-shaped piece which the nger can ydepress with ease without any unpleasant pressure. It is provided with saw-like striaticns the vsteep sides of which 21 are located on the sidesubmitted to the pressure of the lnger, this knurled .surface ensuring a perfect hold on the knurled roll without .any great eiort.

Obviously, the embodiment .of my present in vention as described above has only been ygiven as an example and it can be modied, in ,particular by substituting technical equivalents, :Without widening the eld of the Vpresent invention ,as defined in accompanying claims.

What I claim is:

1. A lighter comprising: :a casing, a spark wheel pivoted on the casing, said ycasing 'being provided with a recess radially ofthe spark Ywheel for housing a flint, the wall `of said recess having a lateral opening through which a flint may be introduced into the recess, a lever pivotally secured to the `casing von an axis `perpendicular to the axes of the spark `Wheel and the recess to normally engage with and urge the lflint against the spark wheel while covering said lateral opening, a spring acting upon said lever to yselectively hold it in active position in engagement with the int or in retracted position wherein it is free from such engagement and uncovers said lateral opening, a lid vfor the casing, and means on the lid to engage with and move the lever from its retracted position to its active position when the lid is moved from its yopened to its closed position.

2. A lighter comprising: a casing, a spark Wheel rotatably -mounted on the casing, said casing being provided with a recess radially ofthe wheel for housing a flint, the `wall of said recess having a lateral opening through which a flint may be introduced into the recess, a lever pivotally secu-red to the casing and adapted to urge the flint against the wheel while covering the opening of the recess, a spring, a pusher urged by the spring against the lever, said lever having a projection engaging said pusher, one side of which projection when in engagement with the pusher serving to force the lever into active position against the flint land the other yside of said projection serving when in engagement with the pusher to hold the Ilever in retracted position withdrawn from the i-nt, a lid on the casing and a member on the lid positioned 'to `engage with the retracted lever when the lid is closed to move the lever into active position.

3. In a lighter, the combination of a casing, a

'spark wheel mounted to rotate on the casing,

5 6 said casing having a recess adapted to contain a UNITED STATES PATENTS int, a lever pivotally secured to the casing and adapted to partake of an active position wherein Lenar'lle Fetelga? it engages the flint and a retracted position 2419889 Florman Apr '29' 1947 wherein it is withdrawn from engagement with 5 the flint, and a lid on the casing, said lever being FOREIGN PATENTS so shaped that in its retracted position it will lie Number Countr te in the path of the lid when the lid is moved from 113,010 Austria AprPzas 1.929 open to closed position, whereby said lid is 481 805 Germany Aug 29 1929 adapted to move the lever fro mits retracted to l0 7511380 France June 19: 1933 its active position when said lid is closed.

VGERARD DESOUCHES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the u file of this patent: 

